Maya Angelou--literary activity

I've been studying Maya Angelou as part of Black History Month. I've linked a you tube video of her reciting one of her poems--"And Still I Rise". (In the widgets to the right, it's the video on top.) I love this poem! I love its positive message! And I love how beautiful she is as she recites it. Have your class discuss elements of this poem, and maybe they can write one of their own. Give them a choice of positive verbs they can put in their title, and have them describe how they do that verb. If the page is up for a while, and the photos disappear, refresh the page and wait for the videos to load.

George Washington Scavenger Hunt

Here's an activity for President's Day: A George Washington Internet Scavenger Hunt. Use the following links to find answers to the following questions. At the end, there are a few online activities about George Washington. (Here's a trick to making this easier to do--open this blog in two windows and set the windows up side by side. Keep one window on this blog so you can read the questions. Use the other window to visit the links. Hit the back arrow after you have answered your question so you can go to the next link.)

1. What was the name of Washington's estate? What river is it next to? What important city is 16 miles away? Go to this link for the answers, and watch the video.

2. Which war did he fight in as a military leader for the British? (Clue, he fought with the American Indians and they fought against the French.) Go to this link for the answer.

3. What role did George Washington play in the American Revolutionary War? Go to this link and scroll down to the paragraph titled "War's Outbreak".

4. What role did George Washington take after the war was over? What year did he take this position? Go to this link for the answer.

5. What was a very important bill he passed as President? Go to this link for the answer.

6. How many years did George Washington serve as President? Go to this link and scroll down to the picture of Washington at Valley Forge, then read the text through the rest of the page for the answer.

If you've got all the answers, go to this link and click on "Launch the Portrait for Kids". Learn a little more about President Washington by solving the mystery of this Washington portrait.

A New Find--BrainPop

While searching for fun things for students to do on the computer, I came across a fun site: brainpop.com This site has animated films about many topics, followed by a quiz. Some of these movies are free, and if you click on free movies from the home page, you will be able to see a few of them. I included two of these free movies in my February links list. This is a subscription site, but they offer a 5 day trial. Not long, I know, but the movies are informative and entertaining and the quizes point out the important facts from the movies. These would be a great addition to any classroom!